Teach Employees About Calendars, Toys R Us

Posted Thu February 21, 2008 12:00 pm, by Peggy L. written to Toys R Us

I went to Toys R Us in Rowland Heights, California to return 2 Transformer toys today. It is the 90th day since the purchase and someone who seems like a manager at the store, gave me a hard time with the return. She claims that she does not know if it has passed the 90th day and I asked her to just add up the days and she'd find it IS the 90th day. She went on saying she doesn't know how many days there are in November so she just needs to go to another place to check the calendar. (I think her logic is that if November has 31 days then it'd make it the 91st day since purchase). I told her there are only 30 days in November and she just does not believe me and went to another department to check the calendar and left me waiting for 15 minutes! She did realize that it in fact is within the 90 day time frame and let me return the stuffs.

I just do not understand why she needs to check how many days there are in November instead of just turn around and ask her coworkers standing right next to her. I also do not understand why it took her 15 minutes to check the calendar. I think she deliberately gave me a hard time and I was not pleased with the process.

Being a loyal customer who probably spent around $3000 during Christmas last year at Toys R Us, I do not think it'd be likely for me to come back again. TEACH YOUR EMPLOYEEs ABOUT CALENDARS!

If she thinks that November has 31 days then I wonder how she becamemanager.

"I just do not understand why she needs to check how many days thereare in November instead of just turn around and ask her coworkersstanding right next to her."

She could even have asked one of the children how many days inNovember(provided they are over 7) and they would have known. Still Idon't see why they could have made an exception for one extra day withan honest customer.

The reason it took her to check the calender for 15 minutes wasprobably because she did not know that November came after October orwas at the end of the year. She was probably looking between June andJuly and wondering where the November page of the calender was untilfinally someone else came along and told her it was after October notafter June.

If she thinks that November has 31 days then I wonder how she becamemanager.

"I just do not understand why she needs to check how many days thereare in November instead of just turn around and ask her coworkersstanding right next to her."

She could even have asked one of the children how many days inNovember(provided they are over 7) and they would have known. Still Idon't see why they could have made an exception for one extra day withan honest customer.

The reason it took her to check the calender for 15 minutes wasprobably because she did not know that November came after October orwas at the end of the year. She was probably looking between June andJuly and wondering where the November page of the calender was untilfinally someone else came along and told her it was after October notafter June.

I've seen a few people singing the praises of the Thirty Days HathSeptember rhyme, but I've always been a bigger fan of the knuckletrick. If you don't know how the knuckle trick works, it goes likethis: Count the months on your knuckles and the grooves between yourknuckles. When you run out of knuckles on one hand, move to the other.Leave out your thumb knuckle. Every month that lands on a knuckle is31 days, every month that lands on a groove between knuckles is 30days (or 28 for February).

As an added bonus, it takes slightly less than fifteen minutes tofigure out how many days are in November using this method. Progress,thy name is Erik!

You claim that you will not be returning to TRU so what differencedoes it make to them that you're unhappy with their service? And youclaim to have been making the return on the 90th day - - did youinclude the day of purchase in your calculation or did you figure thatthe clock started ticking on the day after you made your purchase. Sowhat if the person you were dealing with didn't know how many dayswere in November - - I didn't know either until I looked at mycalendar.

You were able to return "the stuffs" and the fact that youfired up your computer to complain about this minor situation speaksvolumes about the attitude you displayed when making the return.

I understand your frustration here. I am going to take you at yourword that it took 15 minutes for the employee to get back to you. Thatis pretty excessive. Most stores, the computer will automatically tellyou that the purchase is not within the alloted return period, and itseems that Toys'r'us does not have that. At the very least, a calendershould be provided at the return stations - I'm sure that would save alot of time and hassle.

I don't however, feel that the employee was picking a fight with you.What does she have to gain out of that? I think she is guilty of beinga scatterbrain, at best (and really, we all have our moments.).

Not knowing what happened at the store, I will still comment:
1.) I've worked 19 years in retail. One thing I have learned is thatpeople waiting on something multiply the time they have to wait by afactor of 2X or 3X. A 6 minute wait becomes 15. (They also multiplydistances - I drove 50 miles - read 20.)
2.) I'm pretty sure Toys R Us registers would OK the refund or notwhen they scanned it. You didn't mention if they did this.
3.) Toys R Us has a 45 day return policy on collectables -Transformers could be considered this, but I guess they didn't dothis.

I hate people who wait til the LAST possibly moment to return an item,and especially wait til AFTER the return period to return it, THEN getmad when it gets denied. Maybe everyone should have a calenderembedded in their heads.

Not everybody has a calendar in their heads(myself being one of them),and as Toys R Us is one of those places that is strict about returnpolicies, I am sure the cashier wasn't going to risk getting writtenup over your return if it had been more than 90 days.
And, nobody cares how much money you spent in the store. You deserveno better or worse treatment than me, who spent about $150 in therethis Xmas season.